robable, it is the invention of some Indian
or White man Mythologist of recent times; the presumption in favor of
the latter being strengthened, when no mention of the legend, not even
the slightest reference thereto, is to be found in any of the writings
of any of the authors, who (either through personal visits to the
Tribes living comparatively near to the Cataract, or from narrations
told to them by Indians living elsewhere on this Continent) had learnt
their facts at first hand, and had then duly recorded them,--until long
after the beginning of the eighteenth Century.

It is probably to the latter class--modern traditions--even with all
their plausibilities, based upon the superstitious and stoical nature
of the Aborigines--that several of the best-known Legends concerning
Niagara belong.

Three of those legends, especially, appeal to the imagination. One
relates to Worship, one to Healing, one to Burial,--embracing the
Deity, Disease, and Death.

The Legend of Worship is the inhuman yet fascinating one that the
Onguiaahras (one of the earliest-known orthographies of the word
Niagara), who were a branch of the Neutrals, and dwelt in the immediate
vicinity of the Great Fall--and, according to Indian custom, took their
name from the chief physical feature of their territory--long followed
the custom of annually sacrificing to the Great Spirit "the fairest
maiden of the Tribe"; sending her, alive, over the Falls in a white
canoe (which was decked with fruits and flowers, and steered by her own
hand) as a special offering to the Deity for tribal favor, and for
protection against its more numerous and more powerful foes.

And that, at the time of this annual Sacrifice, the tribes from far
and near assembled at Niagara, there to worship the Great Spirit. If
this Legend is based on fact, it would certainly have made the
locality a famous place of annual rendezvous; and at such a
rendezvous the opportunities for the exchange of many and varied
commodities--"trade"--would surely not have been neglected.

The Legend of Healing is, that anyone, Brave or Squaw, if ill, would
quickly be restored to perfect health could they but reach the base of
the Falls, go in behind the sheet of falling waters,--entering, as it
were, the abode of the Great Spirit,--and, on emerging therefrom, be
able to behold a complete circular Rainbow--which should symbolize the
Deity's absolute promise of restoration to perfect health.

[Illu